A/N – Been away for the weekend so here's your update at long last. Hope you enjoy, more twists and turns lay waiting for the couple. Read and review, please!
Aaron was in the back of the garage when Cain returned. He tried to keep himself hidden behind the car he was working on. He could hear Darrel laughing about something. The guy had tried to- . . . he'd forced himself onto Aaron and now he was laughing about with his uncle. Aaron couldn't get his head round it. He wished he could shrug it off as easily as Darrel seemed to. He looked up when Cain approached him, slamming the Mazda's keys into his chest. "Once you're done with that, you can make a start on his." Cain told him sternly nodding his head in the direction of Darrel.
Darrel had managed to clean the blood from his face too but it didn't hide the fact that he had gotten into a fight. His nose was crooked as if it were broken and on his chest were faint trainer marks. He was smirking at him behind his uncles back. Aaron could feel the anger building up inside of him. He shouldn't let Darrel get to him so much, but the man seemed to know how to get under his skin and inside his mind. He snapped when Darrel winked at him. Losing all self control completely Aaron stormed over to Darrel, knocking his uncle out of the way. He had him pinned up against a wall before Cain knew what had happened.
"Aaron!" Cain barked.
Aaron chose not to hear him. He let the hatred for the man in front of him, take over his actions.
Darrel laughed. "It's alright Cain."
Aaron pulled Darrel away from the wall and rammed him back into it painfully. So what if Darrel got a few bruises, he had loads. It was the least he could do.
"Aaron!" Cain barked again, trying to loosen the grip Aaron had on the material of Darrel's shirt.
"Everything alright?" Jackson asked as he wondered round the back of Dale head to find his boyfriend pinning Darrel up against a wall. He could see the bruises on Aaron's face that hadn't been that morning. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." Cain said finally pulling Aaron off of Darrel.
"Aaron?" Jackson asked, hoping the younger man would tell him exactly what was going on.
"Nothing." Aaron bottled, turning back to head inside the garage.
He wasn't going to let it drop just as easy as Aaron wanted it to. He'd just come outside to find out what all the shouting was about to see Aaron pinning his friend's boyfriend up against a wall, blinded by rage. Plus to top it all off, it looked like Aaron had gotten quite a beating as well. He followed Aaron into the garage stopping him from getting on with any work.
"Are you going to tell me what happened? Or am I going to have to ask Darrel?" Jackson asked him hardheartedly.
Aaron remained quiet, handling a spanner in his hands. Jackson caught sight of his red knuckles.
"Who have you hit?" Jackson asked suddenly. "Tell me Aaron! Is it Darrel?"
"What do you care?" Aaron spat, trying to shove himself past Jackson only to be pushed back him. For a moment he was back at the side of the road with Darrel's hands on him. He shook the thought out of his head. He shouldn't be reminding himself! He shouldn't be thinking about it.
"I do care, Aaron! So just tell me." Jackson told him, noticing how scared he looked for a split second. He had never managed to make Aaron look scared before, he didn't mean to cause fear in the younger man. He never wanted that.
"It doesn't matter." Aaron sighed.
"It does. Aaron you're a mess." Jackson said honestly. "You could at least tell me what happened."
"You've got yourself a little fighter there." Darrel commented as he walked into the garage.
That was it. He wasn't going to stay anywhere near Darrel if he could. He stormed past Jackson and Darrel and ran off down the forecourt. He didn't care that Jackson was talking to him or it would cause them more issues later. He just couldn't bear to be anywhere near the man. What had he reduced him to? A day before he would feel no fear of anyone being a few inches away from him or the thought of getting into a fight with a man twice the size of him. But now, now his heart thundered and his stomach twisted in knots at the thought.
"Something I said?" Darrel laughed.
Jackson shot Darrel a deathly glare, he wasn't helping. He was usually a friendly guy to everyone, dropping a smile and polite chat. But for some reason he couldn't warm to Darrel, he couldn't make him out. Now he had to look for Aaron and he could be anywhere.
He knew there was no point looking for Aaron in Smithy Cottage or the Woolpack; he'd run off to be alone most probably. And neither of the two were possibilities. So he tried to think of places where Aaron would go. There were plenty of fields and woods for him to disappear into. It could take ages to find him and Paddy had once told him more often then not, he could never find Aaron. That scared him. He had a lucky guess as he walked round the back of the village hall and looked out across the fields that stretched out behind. He couldn't see anyone walking around in the fields but he heard a noise behind him and turned round. Aaron was sitting against the back of the village hall, his legs drawn up towards him and his arms wrapped protectively around him. Cautiously Jackson went over and sat down beside him the gravel. It wasn't comfortable at all.
He wanted Aaron to speak first but when he knew that wasn't going to happen he spoke first, asking him why he'd run off like that. Aaron didn't say anything still; he just stared off into the distance.
"Aaron, you can tell me you know." Jackson promised him gently.
It provoked a reaction from Aaron. He looked at him, his mouth opened as if he was about tell but then it closed and he went back to staring off into the distance. He'd bottled it again. How hard was it to say, 'oh yeah, you know that Darrel guy. He tried to rape me when I went to fix his car'? Right now, impossible. Every time he felt the words at the tip of his tongue he stumbled. It was his word against Darrel's. It frightened him to think that Jackson might not believe him. He wouldn't believe somebody if they told him he was going to be attacked the next day, so why would anyone believe him if he told the truth. Everyone thought of him as being the head case of the village, able to look after him self and more than likely the one to be causing trouble. He was the last person people in the village would imagine to be attacked. But then again, they said the same about him being gay.
He just shook his head instead.
Jackson new something was up, he didn't like the way Aaron was seething one minute to cowering the next. He'd never seen Aaron look so scared. Yeah, he might be putting on a front. But he could read his eyes. They looked so lost and scared. The fact that the teen was hiding behind the village hall trying to make him self as small as possible didn't help his hard man act. He was still not telling him anything, like usual. It took courageous men to get Aaron to talk, like Paddy for instance, but even he had come away with a few scars.
"Let's go back home, make us some tea and then talk." Jackson suggested, already getting to his feet, hoping the younger man would to.
The whole evening Jackson still hadn't managed to get Aaron to talk. They both sat in the kitchen for a few hours, drinking coffee while Jackson tried to get to the bottom of things. Remaining stubborn, Aaron had only told him that he disliked Darrel and they'd gotten into a disagreement on the side of the road. He supposed it would do for now, it had to when his mother arrived home carting shopping into the kitchen and dropping it onto the table between them. They couldn't talk properly with her around. After that he couldn't find a good time to bring it up again. When Paddy got back from a call, him and Aaron set up the x-box in the lounge and played war games while Hazel cooked them all Dinner. It was as if Aaron had forgotten all about it as he shoved Paddy to divert his concentration away from the game they were both locked into. Maybe he should forget about it to. As long as they kept away from Darrel everything should be okay.
After dinner Aaron went upstairs as Jackson helped Paddy with the washing up. They'd all insisted that Hazel put her feet up considering she cooked them all such a lovely meal and they would clear up. There wasn't enough room for three of them at the sink. He needed some time on his own. It was a rare thing nowadays with Jackson and Hazel living with them. So he took the opportunity to go upstairs and sit alone in his room.
He perched himself on the edge of his bed, his leg shaking up and down manically, his elbows on his knees as he pressed his clenched fists to his mouth. He thought he'd managed quite well. Throughout dinner he noticed Jackson shooting him worried glances across the table, asking unanswered questions. He ignored them, trying to engage himself in conversation with Hazel and Paddy, anything to take his mind off of things. But when Paddy placed his hands on his shoulders to squeeze past him or when Hazel gripped his arm as she laughed, he couldn't stop himself from remembering and it exhausted him trying to act like everything was okay. He needed the time on his own upstairs, he could let his walls down then and nobody would see. But then he was plagued with a new problem.
Every night he and Jackson would cuddle together in bed. It didn't matter if they were tired or irritable they would always hold on to each other, an arm wrapped round a waist or a head resting on a chest. He loved the contact, he felt safe and secure. But he didn't know if he would tonight. Not after what had happened that afternoon. He could only just keep it together when someone touched his arm, so how was he going to cope with Jackson wrapped round his waist? That was it. It was Jackson, nobody else, but Jackson. He trusted him. He loved him. So surely he was safe with him. He wasn't Darrel.
He didn't become aware of Jackson entering their bedroom until he felt a dip in the mattress beside him. He would have to stop losing himself in his head. There was little light in the bedroom, he hadn't switched the light on as he entered and neither had Jackson, so they sat in darkness next to each other.
"It's gone eleven." Jackson told him.
"Really?" Aaron doubted, he swore he'd only been up there for half an hour.
"Yeah, mum and Paddy fell asleep watching CSI:." Jackson told him. "Thought I'd give you some space."
"Oh. . .right." Aaron mumbled, watching Jackson from the corner of his eye.
"Bed?" Jackson suggested.
Aaron nodded his head.
Jackson stripped down to his boxers like usual, jumping into bed before Aaron had even taken his hoodie off. Waiting for the younger man to join him underneath the duvet, Jackson switched the bedside light on and took his watch off. It made it all the more harder for Aaron. Now Jackson would see what had happened to him. He knew he had bruises and they would be quite vivid now. He knew he would have been able to quickly undress and jump into bed in the dark without Jackson catching an eyeful of his purplish bruises inflicted by Darrel. But now the bedside light beside Jackson was emitting a soft glow round the room, Aaron was sure Jackson wouldn't miss the bruises that covered parts of his body and start asking questions that he would want answering. Just his luck.
It felt like hours as he stood by the bed, slowly undoing the not in his tracksuit trousers. All the time he was arguing with himself in his head, debating the pros and con's of what he was about to do. He couldn't make head or tail of what spun round his head, it was all too much for him.
"-Aaron. Aaron, mate, you getting in this bed tonight or. . ." Jackson laughed once he finally got his boyfriends attention. He'd been untying the not in his trousers for nearly ten minutes, completely unaware of Jackson trying to catch his attention.
"Jackson. . ." Aaron started before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. "Jackson, I really need to tell you something."
"What is it? What've you done?" Jackson rushed. He knew something hadn't been right the young mechanic and that just confirmed things.
"Just let me talk!" Aaron snapped, he didn't mean to snap he couldn't help it. He was trying so hard to keep his emotions in check as he took a shaky breath.
"Yeah course." Jackson whispered, sitting up straighter in bed and focusing all his attention on Aaron. It was hard to get Aaron to talk, so for him to tell him he needed to tell him something was a major break through. Well at least he thought so.
"I don't know how to-." Aaron took another break and rubbed a hand down his face. "I don't know how to tell you."
"Well what is it about?" Jackson guided.
"Earlier, it's about earlier- What really happened." Aaron told him as he stared straight at Jackson, hoping that just by looking at him he'd find the strength to tell him.
"What happened earlier? Is it about Darrel as well?" Jackson prompted. He was dying to get to the bottom of things. Things weren't said earlier, that should have been.
Aaron nodded. "You're gonna think I'm a mess, I wouldn't blame you."
Jackson remained quiet, waiting for Aaron to tell him more. "Darrel, he-he. . ." Aaron struggled to figure out how to tell him. It wasn't helping that Jackson was staring right at him, putting him under what felt like pressure, when really he was just concerned.
"What Aaron? He done what?" Jackson questioned, tired of waiting.
". . . He- He just tried it on with me again." Aaron told him, feeling a huge wave a relief. He'd just told Jackson the most part of it. He only hoped that Jackson wouldn't ask for details, he didn't think he could go through it all over again.
"Hoped you told him where to go again." Jackson told him. "I must say he's determined, he really is after you."
"No. Jackson. . ." Aaron started, rubbing a hand over his face once more. Jackson wasn't getting it!
"Next time I see him, I'll tell him keep away from you." Jackson promised him. "Now come here, I'm freezing." He laughed as he reached across the bed and pulled Aaron towards him.
He landed on top of Jackson, his whole body tense. But it seemed the older man didn't notice, he pulled Aaron even closer to him and placed his hands on his waist, holding him in place. He tried to enjoy it and for a moment he was. He felt happy to just be held by Jackson, but then he brought his mouth to his and started kissing him. Jackson's hand slid over a bruise a place where Darrel's hands had a left their mark and he was remind instantly. He tried to fight it, telling himself it were only Jackson. He was hopeful when he thought it was beginning to work, he thought he'd managed to fight the flashbacks from earlier to the back of his mind. However, he was over come with sheer panic when Jackson slipped his hand down Aaron's hip and into his tracksuit bottoms.
The flashbacks came quicker and stronger in his mind. Darrel's hands grabbing him roughly, tearing at his hands and his mouth brutally attacking his. He couldn't see Jackson anymore, all he could see were Darrel and he was petrified. He pushed away, just like he'd done at the side of the road and ran.
To say he was shocked by Aaron's behavior was an understatement. One minute they were kissing on the bed and the next he didn't know. It was like something had gone off in Aaron and he just freaked out. At least this time when he freaked out he didn't hit him like he did in the Woolpack a few months ago. This time he pushed away and ran out the bedroom door, slamming it shut behind him. What was wrong with him now? Apart from that one time in the woolpack Aaron had been doing okay, he didn't freak out when they touched in private. So why had he done just then? That boy was starting to confuse the hell out of him. It seemed that each day he got more and more difficult. If he didn't love him, he figured he would have left weeks ago.
He decided however, not to chase after Aaron. After a long discussion to himself about whether Aaron would appreciate him chasing after him, he figured staying in bed was the better option. He'd see to Aaron in the morning because today everything just seemed . . . odd. Nothing was matching up. On the stair's Aaron was sitting on the bottom steps, the back of his head pressed against the wall behind as he took deep breaths and kneaded the sides of his head with his knuckles. He needed to get himself together and quick! He'd tried to tell Jackson again but it seemed he wasn't listening, at least not understanding what he meant. He wished that while upstairs Jackson would think and figure out what he meant. Then he wouldn't have to explain it all to him again, in a little more depth. He shuddered at the thought. It disgusted him.